Christmas Traditions

We have been very busy this last month, I am sure many of you can relate. I did not post pictures of every event but here are a few things we have been up to....

The first week in December we went to Salt Lake. My family has an annual Christmas Party. The food is amazing, prime rib, funeral potatoes and a variety of salads. Then the kids all make cute ornaments to take home and hang on there tree. This is one of my favorite things. I think I enjoy it even more than Thanksgiving. I am so glad we were able to be there this year. It was also extra special to be there because my nephew Caden was baptized. I cannot believe he is 8. I remember when he was born, how time flies. He is such a good example to everyone he is around.

Then there was Christmas cookies, another favorite of mine. My mom has the grand kids over every year to make them and since we are so far I decided to start this tradition as well. Ethan loved it so much that we did it twice! First was with Briane and her kids. It was a lot of work but so much fun for the kids. Ethan was good at eating the dough but also pretty dang good at decorating. He would put about 5 candies in his mouth and then two on his cookie. unfortunately I can't get these pictures to download. Oh and next year we will definitely use a table cloth, it was quit the chore to clean up. Here are some of the pictures of our little family on Christmas Eve making cookies for Santa. This is our new tradition. I think Ethan dumped half of the sprinkles on one cookie. He cracks me up. It was a fun family activity.

We also went to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve Eve. We always go up into the foothill to this one amazing house. Ethan LOVED it this year! I also could not get these pictures on my computer. Everywhere we went this year he would freak out if he saw lights out the car window.

Then there was Christmas. Ethan was so funny with our tree this year. Every night when it was time for bed he would say "good night tree, good night Santa, Rudolph.. and name all the other ornaments until he was done. On Christmas morning he did the same thing except it was "Hi tree, Santa, Star, Rudolph." He was so excited, when he came down he didn't even see the 4-wheeler Santa brought him he noticed his Thomas coloring book and his stocking. Finally after a few minutes of pulling out all the goodies Santa left him in his stocking we turned him towards his 4- wheeler. He didn't even see it at first. Santa put a small horse on top of it and Ethan saw the horse and then he saw the 4-wheeler. He still wasn't too sure but with daddy's help he figured it our real quick. Once again I couldn't get my pictures to work.

The day after Christmas My sister and her family came up to spend some time with us. We had a lot of fun. We went up to Mcall for two days and played in the snow. We found the perfect spot for sledding and every one had a blast, especially the kids.

On our second day we went to the famous Pancake House for breakfast. Yummy! I had the french toast and have been craving more of it ever since. Then on our way back down we stopped in Donnelly and saw the elk. Ethan was so lovey on the hay ride and went to give me a kiss and smashed his face into mine. He is such a sweet boy. Unfortunately the Bulls weren't there this time just the female cows. So it wasn't as cool, but still fun. So there are a few things we did and there are many more that I didn't mention, but I already feel like I have written a book. I promise to do better next time.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.